English 192: Neuromancer Discussion Questions

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Neuromancer by William Gibson

Contents 1 Global Space 2 Case and the Matrix 3 Molly’s Body and Gender Issues 4 Identity as Information: I Wish I Was In Dixie 5 Life as Information: On the Beach 6 AI Motivation: Wintermute and Neuromancer 7 New Voices in the Future? 8 See Also

[edit] Global Space

1. How is space & place important in the novel?
2. In what locations does the novel take place?
3. What is peculiar about Chiba City?
4. What is the Sprawl like? BAMA?
5. Who is this vision of the future different from the one in Metropolis?
6. How is Deane’s office described? Straylight?
7. How do business and technology play roles in forming places?
8. What kind of place is Zion? Freeside?
9. Is place really important? Why or why not?

[edit] Case and the Matrix

1. What is the Matrix?
2. How is Case’s name significant?
3. What does it mean to think of the body as meat?
4. How does Case see his world?
5. How is Case’s body described to the reader? When is it finally described?
6. Is Case a character we can like? Why or why not?
7. What are his stars?

[edit] Molly’s Body and Gender Issues

1. Compare the descriptions of Molly’s body to the descriptions of Case?
2. How are they different? Why?
3. Consider how Molly’s body is described as both a sexual object and a weapon.
4. What is unique about Molly’s body? Why did she do this?
5. What is Molly’s role in the run? How does this conform to or break standard literary gender traditions?
6. What does it mean that Molly is made to be “ridden”?
7. What are some of the conceptual issues around Molly’s mirrored implants?
8. How does Molly define herself?
9. Does she have a history?
10. What does it mean to be a puppet? Why was Molly a puppet? To what end?
11. Why does Molly say she is wired?
12. What does the novel seem to say about gender issues?

[edit] Identity as Information: I Wish I Was In Dixie

1. What does it mean to be wired?
2. In what ways is the construct Dixie? In what ways is it something else?
3. Why does Dixie want to be erased?
4. How does this complicate the question of the body and the mind?
5. In what ways is Armitage similar to Dixie?

[edit] Life as Information: On the Beach

1. What is life on the beach like?
2. Isn’t this the culmination of Case’s philosophy of life?
3. Is it significant that Linda Lee doesn’t know that she is a “ghost?”
4. How is she similar to or different from Dixie?
5. Is life on the beach really life?
6. Why doesn’t Case choose this life?

[edit] AI Motivation: Wintermute and Neuromancer

1. What does Wintermute want? What does Neuromancer want?
2. How are the two AIs different?
3. Why does Case want Wintermute to win? What does he think will change?
4. What becomes of the AIs?
5. Do they change the world?
6. What becomes of Case?
7. What is a fantasy of control?

[edit] New Voices in the Future?

1. In “The Gernsback Continuum” Gibson seems to critique old exclusionary science fiction styles. Does #Neuromancer offer a chance for voices other than the dominant ones to be heard?
2. How are issues of race and gender approached in the novel?
3. Is this a new approach?
4. Is it critical?

[edit] See Also

• English 192 Syllabus - M. Stevenson Summer 2001